Roofing brackets designed for positioning a platform and supporting a worker thereon are well known in the art of roofing. Typically, a roof is inclined such that a worker cannot safely perform work while standing or maneuvering on the inclined plane of the roof. As is known in the art, roofing brackets are secured to a roof and a platform is positioned and retained in place. The platform provides a generally horizontal plane on which a worker may be supported. After a particular section of roofing has been installed, the roofing brackets are removed and repositioned to enable the worker to safely reach another section of the roof.
One significant problem with the roofing brackets known in the art, particularly when installing standing seam roof panels, for example a metal roof, is that the roofing brackets are fastened to the roof using nails driven into the roof structure. Examples of conventional roofing brackets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,702 to Macri. Both the prior art devices and the invention disclosed therein define features referred to as “nail slots.” The use of nail slots permits the roofing bracket to be removeably secured to the roof structure. Typically, the roofing bracket is struck with a hammer to disengage the nail slots from the nails driven into the roof structure.
As is known in the art, the use of nails to temporarily fasten a roofing bracket to the underlying roof structure is incompatible with the installation of standing seam roof panels. The nail holes are detrimental to the standing seam roof panel substrate. What is needed in the art is a roofing bracket that may be securely and removeably positioned on standing seam roof panels.
One example of a device that recognizes this problem with the prior art devices provides a complex and correspondingly problematic alternative. The device is commercially known as the Brucie Bracket and is commercially available from Lincoln Equipment Associates, Inc., located in West Medford, Mass. The prior art device employs an intricate array of welded members and other structural components. The problems with this device known to those skilled in the art render this device difficult to use.
When maneuvering equipment on a roof, and up and down a series of ladders, the weight of such equipment is a critical feature. Another critical feature in such a device is the complexity of its use; preferably, it may be installed with one hand. The prior art device known as the Brucie Bracket weighs approximately 34 pounds and requires two hands to position and securely attach to a standing seam. In addition, the complexity of the device and the ultimate positioning of the platform defines an unsafe gap between the platform and the roof panel such that a worker's ankle could pass through the gap and result in substantial injury to the worker. Moreover, the device's complexity increases its cost to manufacture and procure.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved roofing bracket to provide a level working surface from which worker may install a standing seam roof panel.